Margaux & Max has managed to stay afloat with Dinges’ live streams on Facebook and creative marketing, even when the store remains closed for in-person shopping.
Photo: I Donna Dinges
Small business owners have had a bit of a whiplash over the past year as Covid-19 flooded the country, with restrictions leading to closures, reopenings and limited operations in markets across the country, at the discretion of state and local leaders .
New data from the CNBC | SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey of Q1 2021 reveals that the experiences of Main Street entrepreneurs reflect this period of unpredictability.
While just over half of small business owners say they were able to stay open during the pandemic, 20% of small business owners say their businesses were temporarily closed due to the pandemic and have since reopened, but only with limited capacity. Additionally, 10% of small business owners say they have closed and have yet to reopen. Another 4% say they shut down, reopened, then shut down.
The back and forth has weighed down the sentiment of small business owners and has led the Main Street community to express strong support for President Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion Covid aid plan, according to the poll, which was conducted among 2,111 small business owners across the country from January 25 through January. . 31 using the SurveyMonkey platform.
Je Donna Dinges launched her clothing and accessories boutique, Margaux & Max, at a new, larger location in early March 2020. Within days, Covid business began to take off nationwide and the Ferndale, Michigan-based store closed.
Je Donna Dinges opened her doors in a new and larger location with her boutique, Margaux & Max, just as Covid was starting to spread across the US. Within days she was due to close in March 2020.
I Donna Dinges
She has yet to reopen her shop for personal affairs, a conscious choice for Dinges because she has an autoimmune disease and wants to limit her exposure. But the entrepreneur is not deterred. To keep afloat, she livestreams fashion shows that she hosts on Friday nights from her shop on Facebook, featuring her styling dolls in all different sizes with clothing and accessories. Her customers tune in, Dinges said, and then go shopping and pick up their purchases during the week.
“I am very concerned about my own health … and I am also very concerned about my customers,” said Dinges. “I made the decision to stay closed, but not go bankrupt.”
More generally, small business sentiment fell to a new low in the first quarter, according to the CNBC poll. Confidence fell from 48 to 43 quarter-on-quarter, the lowest since CNBC and SurveyMonkey began tracking confidence on Main Street in 2017. In addition, the number of small business owners who say they believe they take longer than a year to drop from 67% in the fourth quarter to 55%.
The level of confidence varied depending on the race of entrepreneurs. The CNBC poll shows fears of permanent closure are widespread among black small business owners: 37% say they can survive for more than a year under current conditions, versus 59% of white small business owners and 55% of Spanish small business owners.
Black-owned businesses that have yet to reopen after being temporarily closed due to the pandemic (25%) are comparable to 8% of white-owned small businesses.
Despite the challenges, the study’s Small Business Confidence Index finds that black small business owners remain optimistic with an overall small business sentiment score that is higher than peers.
The Paycheck Protection Program has been a lifeline for some, but adjustments have been made to the program following outrage from some companies and advocates last year that the PPP did not serve smaller and minority borrowers. In January, when the $ 284 billion program was relaunched, community financial institutions that typically serve smaller businesses or may have a mission were given access to the portal for the first time.
According to the Small Business Administration, more than $ 103 billion has been approved for more than 1.4 million small business loans to date. The SBA says 82% of all loans went to companies asking for less than $ 100,000, indicating that smaller companies were asking for help. In addition, nearly a third of the loans went to businesses in rural communities. Approval deadlines have been extended with anti-fraud measures, with loans no longer being approved like last year.
Disadvantaged small businesses
Administration officials have said they believe that the money for the PPP is not running out, as happened in April 2020 when the program was first launched, and lawmakers continue to push for transparency around demographic profiles of companies that borrow. President Biden has pledged to include help for disadvantaged small businesses in his $ 1.9 trillion pandemic package in the form of both grants and funding, as small businesses will likely need lifelines when the PPP closes in March.
“If the administration really gets grants directly to companies and business owners, that will actually help the capital and working capital of those companies rather than just effectively act as a relay for their employees, which was of course the intent of the PPP. invaluable in its own way, ”said Brian Blake, director of public policy for the Community Development Bankers Association.
Dinges said she struggled to access PPP funding last year, and eventually turned to Kabbage for a small business loan after previous rejections. She is considering applying for a second draw loan this year and feels optimistic about the future, despite ongoing challenges. Her sales are down nearly 40%, but it could be a lot worse considering everything Main Street has endured over the past year.
I feel absolutely hope. As I drove through my community I look at empty storefronts which is a shame. But I look at the empty storefronts of major retailers, ”said Dinges. And I just noticed these big retailers are folding, and I’m still standing … the loyalty I get from my customers really moves me. “